Solid stonework has long been used in architecture for accomplishing beautiful and interesting visual effects. However, most stonework employed in architecture is difficult and expensive to use. Highly skilled stone masons are required to properly cut, fit and install natural stone surfaces in a time-consuming and expensive procedure.
Architectural features of stone, such as walls, floors, mantels, arches, balustrades, urns and other decorative architectural features are not only time-consuming and expensive to construct, but also are so heavy that very strong architectural structures are required to support them.
A few attempts have been made to give architectural features a stone-like appearance. Prominent among these is the application of a relative thin veneer of stone, such as fieldstone, to existing walls. The fieldstone veneer is heavy, difficult to apply, and breaks rather easily. The sections of fieldstone veneer must be manufactured in slabs in a plant constructed for that purpose. The visual quality of fieldstone veneers is limited by the appearance of the stone itself.
Other attempts have been made to give walls and floors a simulated stone-like surface by casting stabs of concrete or resin with small stones or imitation plastic stones cast into the exposed surface when the slab is installed. Typical examples of such prior art precast slab construction are those disclosed in the U.S. Pat. Nos: 3,097,080; 3,457,133; 3,456,832; 3,930,088; 4,248,816; 4,784,821; 4,847,026; 4,908,257; 4,956,030; and 5,004,512.
Still other simulated stone techniques involve on-site formations of concrete or resin applied over the existing architectural structures. One disadvantage with these techniques, however, is that the simulated stone surface tend to appear unrealistic. Often, the bonding agents employed, such as cement and/or plasticizers, tend to overwhelm the aggregate stone and detract from their natural graininess texture and appearance. Hence the authenticity and patina of the simulated surface are more questionable upon closer inspection. These applications, moreover, typically require several days for curing which renders the treated surface unusable for a substantial period of time.
Another problem associated with these on-site formations is that thinner layers of application tend to crack and break away from the underlying surface, since the compressive strength is typically under 3000 psi. To compensate for this general lack of strength, thicker layers of at least a two inches are required to endure the normal loads applied to the surface during everyday use. Accordingly, the exterior surface of the simulated stone may be higher or stand out more than desired.
Finally, the material compositions of the prior art simulated stone surfaces tend to be excellent heat sinks due to absorption. This property is disadvantageous on extremely hot days in that these simulated stone surfaces are unbearable to contact without some form of footwear protection. Typical on-site formation simulated stone surface prior art is that disclosed in the U.S. Pat. Nos: 2,095,642; 2,595,142; 2,850,890; 2,951,006; 3,145,502; 3,150,032; 4,025,683; and 4,497,114.